Little Red Riding Hood
by JuliaBeth
Summary: Monroe gets more than he bargained for when he helps a battered woman.  A/U.  This is my first attempt at a Grimm fic.  Rated for sexual references and nudity.  Please R and R. Chapter 14 up!
1. Chapter 1

Monroe awoke to the sound of someone pounding on the door. He looked towards his clock, only to see it wasn't there. Or rather that he wasn't at his house. He looked around the strange room. A nightlight shown on pale pink curtains on the windows, a creamy satin bedspread covered the bed he was laying in. The bed he was laying in quiet naked, he realized with a start.

He looked at the brunette lying beside him and smiled. "Oh yeah," he thought. He reached to wake her.

Before he could, the pounding started again.

This time she sat bolt upright in the bed, clutching the blankets around her, looking around the room, frantically.

"Hey, it's okay," he said, sitting up and reaching for her. "It's okay. Someone's just at the door."

She looked at him with terror at first, then blinked and sighed, "Oh, Eddie." She slumped into his outstretched arms. He could feel her heart pounding in her chest and her rapid breath.

He pulled her against him protectively, the person at the door forgotten for the moment. If he ever got his hands on that bastard again…, well, he'd be lucky if fanging out was all he did.

This time a tap at the bedroom window made him jump as well. Then came the words he'd been dreading hearing for the last 6 months.

"Shit! It's Nick!" The slender brunette jumped up from the bed and searched for her robe. "It's three in the morning, Nicholas!" She yelled towards the window. "This had better be more important than free coffee and a computer to use!"

"It is," came the Grimm's muffled reply. "Now, open the damned door!"

She turned toward Monroe. "Stay here," she whispered with a giggle. "I'll get rid of him." She knelt on the bed and kissed him deeply.

He tried to slide an arm around her waist on hold her there, but she caught his hand and stood up. "He's not gonna give up and go away."

At the bedroom door, she cast one more grin at Monroe, putting her finger to her lips. "Shh.. be a good boy and I promise I'll make it up to you."

Monroe laid back against the pillows. He looked around the room in the dim light. This room was almost too girly.

Part of him wanted to get up and announce his presence to Nick. He was tired of hiding his feelings from one of the few people he truly considered a friend. It wasn't so strange, what they were doing. Lots of Blutbads had relationships with human women. If they hadn't, they would have died out centuries ago.

Of course this was first non-Wesen woman he'd ever been with, but hell, it was Nick's fault he'd ever met her in the first place.

It made sense really. Them being together. The whole reason the brothers Grimm had even known about the Blutbads was that one of their daughters had run off with one.

That's right, Little Red Riding Hood had been a Frueline Grimm and she hadn't been so little. The 'Big Bad Wolf' hadn't so much ate her as took her innocence. Unfortunately for him, it had been in time when it was a worse crime to seduce a virgin than to rape a widow. When her father had found them, a fight broke out, and Red had died as a result. Then came the stories about Man-wolves who prowled the forests looking for unsuspecting girls and robbing them of their virtues. Over the years, it became the story everyone knew as Little Red Riding Hood, a cautionary tale for girls about the dangers of talking to strangers.

As much as he wanted to go in the kitchen, where he could hear Nick talking, and end this silly charade, he resigned himself to lying there and waiting for her to come back. After all, nothing good would ever come from one walking out another man's little sister's bedroom, stark naked at 3 in the morning. Especially if those men were BlutBod and Grimm, respectively.

He couldn't hear what Katie and Nick were saying, but it didn't sound like the conversation would be ending anytime soon.

If Nick only knew. Well, Nick had no one but himself to blame for them ever meeting.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Grimm is owned by NBC. I'm just borrowing the characters for a while.

Thanks for all the reviews! To Panderfly, yes Katie is an OC of mine.

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><p>"What is it?" Katie asked, opening the door just wide enough for her to stand in. Her older brother, Nick Burkhardt, and his partner Hank were standing on her doorstep.<p>

"Let us in, Katie," Nick said. "Its freezing out here."

Katie glanced at her bedroom door, then reluctantly step aside for Nick and Hank to come in. Nick headed straight to the coffee maker, despite his earlier assurance that he needed more than free coffee. Katie started to protest, then remembered that it was about 10 degrees outside and decided to let them at least warm up while Nick did whatever it was he needed to do. However, if he headed for her computer, she was going to physically throw him out by his ears.

"How are you, Hank?" She asked, struggling to be polite. She kept stealing glances towards the bedroom, despite her best efforts not to.

"Well, good as I can be, considering we're out at this time of night chasing down a suspect and John Wayne over there decided that we had to come rushing over here." He took in the sight of her in her robe, with her hair a tangled mess. The hair, along with her nervous glances down the hall made him smirk. "You're looking well," he said, his eyes resting on her hair.

Katie's hands flew to her hair as she blushed bright red. She realized exactly what she must look like. Especially since Monroe seemed to keep his hands in her hair most of the time they were making love. She knew it was because he was afraid he would loose control and claw her otherwise, but it did make for some interesting hairstyles in the mornings. She quickly raked her fingers through her hair, trying to repair some of the damage. Thankfully, Nick didn't seem to have noticed.

Katie turned towards Nick and folded her arms across her chest. "Not to be rude, Nicholas, but what do you want? I have to be up in two and half hours, then spend all day teaching Shakespeare to a bunch of teenagers."

When he had been rushing out of the office, it had seemed like this was the best plan. Now that he was there, he could see that maybe there was a better way to break the news to her than by banging on her door at 3 in the morning. All he had been able to think about was getting to her to make sure she was safe. Now, he could see that maybe just posting a marked car outside the house until daylight would have been the best bet. She seemed jumpy enough just by being waken so abruptly.

He sighed. "Kates, Tommy's out of jail. I found the memo on my desk when we got back to the office tonight. Did the parole board call you?"

Katie face had gone pale white. She shoved her hands behind her to hide that they were shaking. Tommy Jones had been her husband of the past six years and boyfriend since high school. He had also been serving six months of a five year sentence in the state penitentiary for beating her so badly she'd spent a week in Intensive Care. At his trial he had stood up and called her a worthless whore and swore that he would kill her when he got out. She truly believed he could and would do it. She shook her head, not trusting her voice to speak. She sank down into a chair at the table.

"He's been out for a few days now and hasn't checked in with his PO yet," Nick said. "I thought it would be best if you weren't alone until he's found."

Hank took a sip of his coffee and suddenly said, "You haven't heard from Tommy, have you?" He looked down the hall where her eyes had been straying so often.

"No!" She said, sharply. Having Nick running down the hall and bursting into her bedroom wouldn't be that good right now. "I mean, no. How is he out already?"

"Overcrowding," Hank shrugged. "Good behavior."

"Apparently you actually have to kill your wife to do any really time," Nick said, bitterly. He was tired of catching criminals all day just have them set free with a slap on the wrist. Especially this one. "Anyway. I want you to come stay with me and Juliette tonight. Maybe you should call in for today."

"No," Katie answered. "Tommy can't get in the school. He's PNG there and there are uniformed officers at every entrance already. Ironically, its safer there than anywhere else." She had met Tommy at that school 8 years before when they had been students.

"Good. Then we'll drop you off. Juliette's working today," he stopped to think. He couldn't take off at this point in his case and it wasn't guaranteed that he would be able to stop and go escort her from work to his house. His feature brightened. "I'll call Monroe. Maybe he can pick you up and stay with you until Juliette gets home. Hopefully, it won't take too long for them to locate Tommy. I've already filed for a RO for you."

Kate scoffed. Restraining orders hadn't stopped him last time. She realized that Nick was dialing his phone. "What are you doing?"

"Calling Monroe."

"No, don't."

"Why not? Are you two not getting along again?"

"Oh, we're getting along," she thought to herself. She said, "We're getting along fine. He just might be more helpful if you wait until 7 or 8 to call him." She pointed at the wall clock that read a quarter after three.

"Right," he said, putting his phone away.

Katie wasn't going to get anymore sleep tonight. She stood up. "I'm going to get dressed." She stumbled off to her bedroom. She had all but forgotten about the naked Blutbad in her bed.

When Katie shut the door, Monroe knew something was wrong. The smell coming off of her was no longer, well, sex and him. It was fear. The whole room seemed to stink of it.

"Katie, what's wrong?" he asked, quietly getting up and trying to locate his boxers and jeans in the dark room. "Is Nick gone?"

Katie didn't speak, she just shook her head and went into her bathroom. Monroe followed. Katie was in her closet, frantically throwing clothes into a tote with no rhyme or reason.

He grabbed her shoulders and turned her to face him. "Stop. What did Nick say? What's gotten into you?"

She wiped her eyes and looked up at him. "Tommy's out of jail and no one knows where he is. He's coming after me. Oh, Eddie, I know he is."

Monroe had to struggle for a moment to keep his Blutbadden side in check. He pulled Katie against his chest tightly. "Don't worry, Sweetheart. He isn't going to hurt you ever again."

"How do you know that?" She asked. The last time, he'd gotten to her at a football game in broad daylight.

"Because I'm not going to let him."

Katie looked up at him quickly enough to see his brown eyes turn red, then just as quickly turn back to brown.

"You're my mate," he said, nuzzling her neck. He closed his teeth over the soft spot where her pulse beat, biting softly. "No one will ever hurt you again."

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><p><em>AN: I know Katie is kind of weak, but there is a reason for this that I can't give away yet, without giving away a plot point in the story._

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><p><strong>AN 2: Okay, since I can't decide and have plot bunnies running in all directions, I thought I would make the next chapter sort of interactive. **

**How should Nick find out about Monroe and Katie?**

**1)He doesn't yet. I find someway for Monroe to leave without Nick seeing him.**

**2)Monroe just decides to bite the bullet and go tell him, kinda still in a reckless Blutbad state and not caring about being subtle.**

**3)Nick decides to do the Nick thing and call Monroe anyway, despite the time, only to hear it ringing in Katie's bedroom.**

**Vote in your reviews, please!**

**Thanks!**


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Grimm is owned by NBC. I'm just borrowing the characters for a while.

**Thanks to all who have read and reviewed. I love this fandom.**

_A/N: The flashbacks set to when Katie and Monroe met are set during the series somewhere between the episode where Monroe shoots the Ogre and when he gets beaten up by the Reapers. I made up the time frames. I assume that not all of Nick's cases involve a Wesen character. So more time passes between episodes than the show leads us to believe._

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><p>"So, just what is Nick doing out there?" Monroe asked.<p>

"Probably raiding my refrigerator," Katie said with a shrug.

"I thought he only did that at my house," Monroe replied.

"No, he does that everywhere. I'll never understand how he can eat so much," Katie said, pulling away, feeling calmer. She didn't know how he did it, but being around Monroe always made her feel safer.

Monroe put his shirt on and sat down on the end of the bed while Katie took a shower. He wasn't really sure how Katie thought she was going to keep their secret with both he and Nick stuck at the house for next few hours. He knew Nick wasn't leaving and he sure wasn't leaving her alone anytime soon. What he had told her was true. No one would hurt her, not as long as he was around. Human or not, she was his mate. He knew that now. Truth be told, he'd known it from the first time he saw her. It had just taken him a while to come to peace with that.

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><p><em>One Year Earlier<em>

Katie's eyes popped open a minute before her alarm clock went off. She quickly jumped up and turned it off. She looked at her husband sleeping peacefully in the bed. She sighed with relief. He hated to be woken by the alarm.

She went into the kitchen and started making breakfast. She just wanted this morning over with. Tommy was flying out to Chicago for business and would be gone for a week. Traveling always made him nervous and he wasn't easy to be around when he was nervous.

She took the bacon out of the refrigerator. She looked at it for a second, then threw it down on the counter and ran to the bathroom. Lately, everything made her sick. She had thought it would have stopped by now. She was four months along, after all. Tommy had been so happy when she'd told him and for a while, things had stopped.

She brushed her teeth and washed her hands and face and rubbed her slightly swollen belly. If she could just get things right for the next few months, everything would be okay.

As she was finishing up breakfast, Tommy came downstairs with the suitcase she'd packed the night before. He walked over to her and put his arms around her waist.

"Is the little guy giving you any trouble?" he asked.

"Not much," she replied with a smile. Maybe things weren't going to be bad today.

He kissed her cheek, fixed himself a cup of coffee, and then went and sat at table while she fixed him a plate.

"Aren't you going to eat?" he asked.

She smiled, "Maybe when your son calms down a bit."

Tommy caught her wrist and squeezed it. "Its my last morning here for a week. I'd think the least you could do is sit down and eat with me before I leave."

She sat down and nibbled at a piece of toast while he rambled on about his trip. All through the meal, his phone was buzzing. He'd pick up and look at, then set it back down quickly. He brushed off her concerns about it.

While he was in the shower, his phone started ringing. Normally, she never picked it up, but it just wouldn't stop.

She looked at the display screen. Charlie. Well, the picture on the screen certainly didn't look like a Charlie. She put the phone down, unanswered.

When her home phone rang, she picked it up, expecting to hear Nick's cheerful voice on the other end.

"Hello?"

No was there.

"Weird," she thought as she hung up.

Tommy's phone buzzed with a message. Katie knew she should leave it alone. She knew whatever was on there was the end of her good morning, but she couldn't help herself.

She picked up the phone and opened the message.

"Can't wait to see you. Have you left yet?" It said, followed by another picture of 'Charlie' in some slinky lingerie.

She put the phone down. So that's where they were at again.

"Katie? Have you seen my extra phone charger?" Tommy called from upstairs.

Katie didn't answer, just stared at the offending phone.

"KATIE! Where's my charger?" he yelled this time.

Katie lost her cool. She was tired of everything. She snatched the phone up and went upstairs. At the bedroom door, she asked, "Why don't you yell at Charlie to find your damn charger?"

"What?" he asked, confused.

Katie held up the phone. "Why. Don't. You. Ask. Charlie?" She held the phone up.

His face changed from confusion to anger for just a second, then back to feigned confusion. "I don't know a Charlie. What are you doing with my phone?" He reached for it, but she pulled it out of his reach.

"Really? Because she wants to know if you've left yet," Katie said. She knew she was pushing too far but she couldn't stop herself.

"The only Charlie I know is a business contact," he said. "She may be at the meeting. She works for the company we're trying to buy."

"Do all your business contacts send you pictures of themselves in skanky underwear?"

"What?" He snatched at the phone.

It rang again. Katie looked at it. "Well, its Charlie. What a surprise."

This time Tommy lunged at her to get the phone, but Katie was quicker, moving into the hall and answering the phone. "Hello?"

There was silence. "Hello, Charlie?"

"Is Tom there?" came a shaky reply.

Katie held the phone out to him. "She wants to talk to you."

He shrugged. "Hang up the damn phone."

"So, you don't want to talk to her? What a pity." She put the phone back to her ear. "He won't talk to you because he's too chickenshit to admit that you're not just a work contact." At that she threw the phone at Tommy. "Oh, and tell her don't ever call my house again."

Tommy scrambled to get the phone. "Charlotte? Are you there? Charlotte?" He put the phone down and looked at Katie murderously.

In a second, he'd crossed the small space between them. He grabbed her, his fingers digging into her shoulders painfully. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" he demanded. "Why do you make me do this? Why do you have to start some shit this morning? Do you really think your little scene is going to change things? I'll teach you not to mess with my things."

Katie struggled to get away.

The first blow landed on her left temple and she saw stars behind her eyes. The next one landed on her right cheek, knocking her to floor. Her head was throbbing and her lip was split. She managed to get to her feet and ran for the stairs. If she could get outside, he wouldn't follow. He was way too concerned about appearances for that. At the top of the stairs, he caught her by the hair and jerked her back.

"I think you like this," he snapped, shaking her. "I think you like all the drama. You like everyone paying attention to poor little Katie."

She jerk away from him. "Stop, please, Tommy. The baby..," she stepped back.

He pushed her away.

Katie lost her balance, tripping over the carpet at the stairs. She hit the wooden stairs hard, falling, rolling to the bottom. She tried to stop her self with one hand while she wrapped the other arm around her stomach protectively. At the bottom, she tried to get up again, but couldn't. One leg was turned at a strangle angle and she couldn't put any weight on her wrist without pain. All she could was lay there and wait. He would kill her this time for sure.

Tommy stomped down the stairs and stepped over her without concern. He went into the kitchen and took her phone off the charger. He slammed it against the counter, shattering it. Then he took the home phone off the hook. He came back to the foyer. "Now, let's see your stupid cop brother come rescue you."

He picked up his suitcase.

Katie knew if he left, she'd really be in trouble. "Tommy, please. I'm sorry. Please. The baby. Please help me."

Tommy looked at her with a sneer. "If you'd cared about that baby, you wouldn't have made me do this." He stood up and before she could brace herself, he kicked her in the stomach and left, slamming the door behind him.

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><p>Nick was on his way to Clackamas to interview a potential witness to his latest case when his phone rang.<p>

"Burkhardt."

"Hello, is this Nick Burkhardt?" a strange voice asked.

"It is," he replied cautiously.

"Detective Burkhardt, this is Susan St. Charles, I teach with your sister, Katie, and well, I thought you should know she didn't show up for work today, and she didn't call in."

Nick's heart began to pound. He had always known he'd get a call like this. "Is it possible she just decided to skip today? Maybe she called in earlier?" He asked, hopefully.

"Not really. I mean, this wasn't really a day she could miss. I've got to go, I just thought you may want to check on her."

"Thank you."

"No problem, I just hope she's okay." Susan hung up.

Nick immediately called Katie's cell. No answer. Then he tried her house only to get a busy signal.

He hung up the phone. "Hank, I gotta head back," he told his partner.

"What? Why?" Hank asked.

"Katie didn't show up for work and no one can get in touch with her. I got to go check on her."

"Did you call her husband?" Hank asked.

Nick shot him an incredulous look.

"Right," Hank said, remembering Nick's theory about his sister's frequent bumps and bruises. "Well, can't Juliette go?" He really wasn't looking forward to going all the way back home and then back to Clackamas when it turned out to be nothing more than Katie taking a personal day.

"She's in Salem with her mom," Nick replied. He tried calling Katie again with the same results as before. He punched the dash out of frustration. He didn't know what to do. If he turned around and it was nothing, he'd be in trouble at work. If he didn't go and it was something, he'd never forgive himself. Then it dawned on him.

He quickly dialed the numbers on the phone. "Monroe?" he said, before the other man could even talk.

"Hello, Nick," Monroe replied. "I was in middle of a very delicate clock repair."

"Sorry. Listen, I need a favor," Nick said.

"What?"

"I need you to go to 113 Franklin Street and check on my sister," Nick rushed on, mistaking Monroe's annoyance for agreement.

"Dude, you have a sister?" Monroe asked.

"Yeah, and I think she might be in trouble. I'm an hour outside of town. Can you please go look in on her?"

Monroe started to Nick where to go. He was still sore over the whole Ogre shooting thing and was getting a but tired of Nick always needing him, but doing the whole 'we're not friends' thing when others were around, but something in the younger man's voice stopped him. Nick sounded wigged out. Something he'd never seen the younger man be and they had been in plenty of situations that called for it.

"Okay," Monroe agreed, reluctantly. "I needed a break anyway. What kind of trouble are you talking about?" He was getting his keys as Nick was talking.

"Oh," Nick said, just as they were hanging up. "She can see you."

"Well, I would hope so," Monroe replied, taking the statement at face value. Then the meaning of what Nick was trying to say hit him. "Wait, you mean..she can see Wesens? And she's not a Grimm? Of course not," he answered himself. "There's only one in every family. Fascinating."

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><p>Five minutes later, Monroe had found 113 Franklin street. As he walked up to the front door, he thought it odd that in three months, Nick had not mentioned that he had a sister, or that she lived in Monroe's neighborhood, approximately.<p>

As he knocked on the door, he smelled blood, and lots of it. Fresh blood. The wolf in him fought to come out, but managed to keep himself under control.

"Mrs. Jones," he said, banging on the door louder. "I'm a friend of your brothers. He wanted me to come by and check on you." He looked through the small window in the door and didn't see anything. He turned to leave. Nick was probably over-reacting. But the smell of blood was bothering him. He knew he couldn't leave till he'd at least seen that Katie wasn't home. He walked all around the house and managed to find a door that was unlocked.

"What kind of idiot leaves their door unlocked?" He asked himself.

He let himself in, announcing very loudly who he was. He remembered Nick's warning about Katie and if she was somewhere hurt, having Blutbadden walk up on her unannounced would be a very bad shocked.

Katie heard the man pounding on the door. She'd tried to answer, but couldn't call out loud enough. When she heard him in the house, she cried out. "I'm in the front."

Monroe was not prepared for the sight that he found. There was blood all over the floor and the poor broken girl in the middle of it.

The beast in him roared to life. He turned to go, knowing that he couldn't control himself around so much fresh, red blood. Friend or not, he couldn't help Nick this time. He'd tear her apart if he got any closer.

He backed out the room, saying he'd call 911 or something, he wasn't sure. All he could think about was getting away from the sweet smelling red blood.

Katie looked up at her would-be savior, then shrank back in terror. Of course. Her day couldn't get any worse. Now she was going to be eaten by a werewolf. "Well," she thought to herself. "At least it'll be quick."

That had to be better than lying there and bleeding to death in pain.

Then he just turned and left. Katie didn't understand. He practically ran out of the house.

Monroe was on the porch before the blood smell dissipated enough that he could think straight. He figured he'd get in his car, call 911, and watch until they arrive. Back to his nice, safe, non-red car.

He was on the steps when he realized that despite it being her blood he was smelling, it wasn't her blood he wanted. He didn't want to go back in there and finish the job. He realized with a shock that he wanted the person who had started it in the first place. He envisioned himself tearing the man whose scent permeated the house, limb from limb. In that second he knew he didn't want to leave her. He had to protect her.

He turned again and went back in the house. He didn't really understand it, but this feeling was as strong as the one that had driven him from the house. He could see the terror in her face as he approached her.

"It's okay, Katie. Nick sent me. I'm not gonna hurt you," he said, walking toward her slowly with his hands held out in front of him. "I'm going to help you, okay?"

She nodded, even though she still looked terrified.

He took off his jacket and wrapped it around her. "I'm going to pick you up. Ready?"

He lifted her up easily, but she still cried out. "I'm sorry. I know that hurts," he said, soothingly. "We're going to get you some help."

He got her settled in his car, then fished his cell out of his pocket to call Nick.

"Burkhardt."

"I'm taking her to Mercy. You'd better meet us there," he said.

"That bad?" Nick asked.

"Yeah," he replied. "Its that bad."

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><p>AN: This chapter is a bit extreme and was hard to write, but I wanted to show why Katie would be so scared of her ex that even having a Blutbad as a protector didn't make her feel better.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Grimm is owned by NBC. I'm just borrowing the characters for a while.

**Thanks to all who have read and reviewed. I love this fandom. Again, I have to say, you guys are great. All the encouragement is making write faster!**

_A/N: The flashbacks set to when Katie and Monroe met are set during the series somewhere between the episode where Monroe shoots the Ogre and when he gets beaten up by the Reapers. I made up the time frames. I assume that not all of Nick's cases involve a Wesen character. So more time passes between episodes than the show leads us to believe._

___**Also, if anyone would like to beta for me, ideas, grammar, characterization, whatever, I need all the help I can get!**_

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><p>Monroe waited for Nick in the ER waiting room. He decided he couldn't just leave, he had to wait for Nick, but as he checked his watch for the hundredth time, he couldn't wait to get out of there. Katie's blood was all over him and the smell was driving him crazy. It was making him too aggressive. He'd practically snarled at the nurse who came out to talk to him and all the poor guy had asked was her name and how Monroe knew her. Routine questions, he guessed, for anytime some strange looking guy came in carrying a woman covered in blood.<p>

He looked at his watch again. If Nick didn't hurry, he'd be the next Wesen the Grimm was hunting down.

He still couldn't understand the massive protective urge he was feeling. He was a blutbad, after all. He was a monster, and monsters were not protective. He'd given up that life, but always struggled with staying on the right side of the line. Granted, since he'd met Nick, he'd been living closer to that line than he usually cared too, but it felt good to use what he knew to help people instead of hurting them.

He'd first felt it towards Holly, the wild blutbad girl who had been shot. He could understand that. She was like him. He was supposed to want to help her, but Katie was human. He should have wanted to _eat _her. Instead, he wanted to take out anyone who might even threaten her.

She'd told him she'd slipped going down the stairs, but he didn't believe her. Given what Nick had told him and her frightened mouse demeanor, he knew there had to be more to it than that.

When Nick and Hank walked in, he jumped to his feet, ready to bolt. He already caught himself growling at a man across the room for staring at him and wasn't sure how much longer he could hold out.

Nick came to a halt when he saw Monroe.

"Damn."

"Yeah," Monroe agreed. "She's back there." He motioned towards a set of double doors. "They called her husband."

"Great." Nick said. "That's just what she needs." He shook his head in disgust. "Listen, man, thanks. I know its..."

"Nick?" A sharply dressed man in his mid-twenties came bursting through the entrance.

Nick gave the man a look of repulsion and hatred.

Monroe was sure that if Nick could turn that look on a wesen, he wouldn't have to worry about who or what they were, they'd drop dead on the spot.

"What are _you_ doing here, Tommy? Haven't you done enough?" Nick snapped, stepping toward Tommy.

"I got a call _my wife_ was in a _accident. _Where else would I be?" Tommy said, facing off with him.

"Hey!" Hank stepped between the two men. All he needed was for his partner to get in a fist fight in the middle of a public hospital. "This isn't the time. Go check on your wife," he told Tommy, dismissing him. He turned to Nick. "Easy, man. You know how this works and egging him on now isn't going to help Katie any."

Monroe knew he couldn't stay there anymore. He knew if he saw Tommy again he wouldn't control himself. It was taking everything he had not to burst through those doors and rip him apart. "Uh, Nick. I'm just gonna go now. I need to get cleaned up."

"Yeah," Nick said, looking at his clothes again. He didn't know how Monroe had made it that long. "Hey, thanks. For everything."

Monroe nodded. "Sure. No problem. Call me when you find out something."

"I will." Nick agreed.

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><p>Considering his usual timing, Monroe wasn't surprised when Nick showed up at his door at a quarter to ten, looking like hell.<p>

"Please tell me that son of bitch in jail right now," Monroe said as soon as Nick stepped inside.

"Nope," Nick said, begrudgingly. He followed Monroe to the kitchen.

He took the beer Monroe offered him and hopped up on the counter. "No, he's not in jail. He's sitting up there, playing the doting husband, weeping about 'his baby'." He took a long drink of the beer.

"Why not?"

"Cause that's not the way it works," Nick replied. "This how we used to play this game. He'd beat the hell out of her. I'd get him arrested and as soon as she was able, she'd go bail him out. Then the next time, it'd be ten times worse. It's to the point where the DA won't touch it anymore. Unless Kate's willing to press the charges, they'll just let him after 72 hours. Its not worth it."

"Well, not for nothing, Dude, but why don't you deal out some old school justice on his ass?" Monroe asked.

"I've done that." Nick said. "Several times. The last time I got to spend a lovely night in lock up and Katie didn't speak to me for a year. The only piece of good advice Aunt Marie gave me was that I can't make Katie leave him. All I can do is give her a safe place to run to." He down the rest of the beer.

Monroe could see he was struggling with that. "Want someone else to do it?" He offered, only half joking. Still, it brought a smile to the Grimm's face.

"How is she?"

"Okay, all things considered," Nick said. "She has a broken leg. She fractured her wrist, and she lost the baby," he took a deep breath. "She had 3 surgeries today. What kind of man beats up his pregnant wife? But, she's holding to her story that she fell down the stairs."

"Why?"

"Hell if I know, but he won't leave her side for a minute because he knows no one is buying that crap. Juliette is going to go up there tomorrow, see if she can't talk her into coming home with us for a while. She can usually talk her into stuff when no one else can," Nick said. He got up to go. "Hey, thanks for the beer. Thanks for...everything. You saved her life, Man. The doctor said she'd have bled out. I think you just raised the bar of what I owe you to, like, a million or something. She's the only family I have left. I'll let myself out."

* * *

><p>When Juliette walked into Katie's hospital room the next morning, she saw Katie had been crying. She was happy to see Tommy was gone. Before she could say anything, Katie looked up at her and said, "I'm going home with you and Nick when they released me. I'll tell him something about stairs. He took my baby, Jules. I can't live with that." She started crying again.<p>

Juliette dropped her bag and crawled up in the bed with Katie and let her cry on her shoulder. Katie was like the little sister she never had. Even in the times she'd broken up with Nick, she and Katie still hung out. She had been the first person Katie had called when test was positive. She knew how much Katie had wanted that baby. It tore her heart up to think that she'd lost it this way, but she secretly hoped that would be enough to drive Katie away from Tommy for good.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: Grimm is owned by NBC. I'm just borrowing the characters for a while.

**Thanks to all who have read and reviewed. I love this fandom.**

_A/N: The flashbacks set to when Katie and Monroe met are set during the series somewhere between the episode where Monroe shoots the Ogre and when he gets beaten up by the Reapers. I made up the time frames. I assume that not all of Nick's cases involve a Wesen character. So more time passes between episodes than the show leads us to believe. Oh and in my story Hap is still alive and they captured Orson before he tried to kill him instead of after. I just love Hap and I have plans for Angelina in possible future stories._

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><p>Katie had been out of the hospital for 3 weeks. She'd been staying with Nick and Juliette for the whole time. Tommy had been by every day to try to convince her to come home. He'd told her that he loved her, that he would get anger management. He swore that Charlotte had meant nothing to him and he'd never cheat again. Then he threw a vase of roses at her when she just couldn't understand how much he'd changed.<p>

On the whole, she was tired of it. She was tired of everything. She was tired of tiptoeing around her own house. She was tired of the women, she was tired of the hands that could be so loving one minute and downright cruel the next.

In truth, she was depressed. She didn't care anymore. She didn't care if he was in anger management. She didn't care if he had a mistress. She didn't care if she ate. She didn't care if she brushed her hair. She didn't care if she lived. Nick and Juliette kept watch over her day and night. She was very tired of that and they were starting to wear each others nerves thin.

She'd filed for a restraining order after the roses incident, at Nick's insistence. He'd practically written it out himself and held her hand while she signed it. She didn't think it would help much. Tommy had already proved that if he wanted her dead, she would be dead before any policeman could get there to enforce the order, but it made Nick feel better so she signed it anyway.

One Saturday, Nick and Hank had taken her back to her house to get her things. She saw the red stain in wooden floor and got sick. She quickly gathered up the things she needed and left, not wanting to be there any longer than necessary. Besides, Tommy had only agreed to clear out for an hour and she didn't want to run into him. Nick had told her to take her time, that she didn't have to jump to Tommy schedule anymore, but she just looked at him, then went back to packing. Of course she had to jump to Tommy's schedule.

After they had dropped Hank off at his house, Katie finally asked, "Who was the guy you sent over that day?"

"Monroe. He's.. a friend of mine."

"He's a Blutbad. You know that, don't you?"

"I know. I didn't know you were hurt that bad," Nick replied. "He's a good guy, despite being BlutBad. He's helped me out several times, since Aunt Marie died."

Since Aunt Marie had died had become his way of saying, 'Since I become a Grimm.' Katie couldn't believe that he hadn't told Juliette or even Hank. He'd told her, of course, because he knew she'd believe him. After all, she'd believed all of Aunt Marie's crazy stories over the years.

"Why did he help me?" she asked. "Shouldn't he have, I don't know, finished me off? I mean, I was pretty much a sitting duck."

"I told you. He's a good guy. He, somehow, gave up being the wolf lifestyle and tries not to indulge in those instincts. I don't know exactly how he does it, but I've met one other Blutbad who is the same way. Monroe says it has to do with diet and exercise, but I doubt that's how the other guy stays out of trouble. He didn't seem as dedicated as Monroe."

"A good Blutbad?" Katie scoffed. "Aren't they the big bad wolves?"

Nick nodded. "Yeah. He says he's a Weider Blutbad."

"Weider, huh?" If she wasn't mistaken, Katie thought weider meant anti. So he was an anti-big bad wolf. No wonder she'd felt safe with him.

After that, she'd started bugging Nick to take her to see Monroe.

* * *

><p>He finally gave in a week later.<p>

Katie had been feeling a little better. Her bruises had mostly faded and she was in a walking cast with just a brace on her wrist. Nick was surprised to see that Katie had actually fixed her hair and put on make-up.

For once, he'd called instead of just showing up on Monroe's doorstep.

Monroe paced around his house nervously. It wasn't everyday he let humans into his house. Well, except for Nick. Nick never really waited to be let in, but he definitely didn't invite small injured human women inside. It seemed like asking for trouble and he liked his life and didn't want to mess it up. What if before had only been a reaction to how hurt she'd been? What if the sight or smell of her set him off again? It'd taken two days of seclusion and the damn good bottle of wine Nick had sent around to get rid of the murderous feelings last time. Sure, they weren't directed at her, but still he couldn't be sure.

When the doorbell rang, he reluctantly answered the door.

Katie was suddenly shy when the door opened. She wasn't sure what possessed her to want to see him anyway. He was a blutbad. Aunt Marie and her mother before her had always warned her to stay away from them more than anything else in their worlds. In fact, every boy who ever asked her out had been subjected to scrutiny by Aunt Marie just to see if they were wesen and Blutbad in particular. Of course, they had also told her that a Blutbad would rip her apart so effectively that there would be nothing left to even bury and he hadn't done that. She didn't know them to be particularly cunning, so she didn't think it was any big plot to kill her later. She started breathing heavily. She couldn't even run if she needed to. She looked at Nick hoping he knew how to handle it if things went bad.

"Hi," she said, shyly. "I don't think we were properly introduced. I'm Katie."

"Monroe," he smiled, taking her small hand in his large one. All his nervous energy melted away. He didn't want to jump on her and devour her. The protective feeling was back, and as unsettling as it was, he at least knew he wasn't going to hurt her.

She looked around his small den. There were clocks everywhere. Some ordinary and some were incredibly intricate and ornate. She stepped closer to a gold one hanging on the wall. It had Roman Numerals and hands that seemed as thin as wire. "These are beautiful," she said. "Did you make these?"

"Well, made them or fixed them," he replied. "That one is over two hundred years old. When I got it, the face was cracked and the works were completely oxidized."

She smiled. "Nick told me you were a horologist. I didn't know anyone still did that. Now I can see why. These are real works of art."

"Some of them," he agreed. At first, he was a bit suspicious since most people, Nick included, thought all his clocks were weird, but she seemed sincere in her praise of them. "Some of them are just pretty junk."

Katie looked at him and smiled. "Well, who decides what's art and what's junk anyway?"

"Do you want some coffee?" he asked. "I know Nick does." Nick was already heading towards the kitchen to see what treat Monroe was cooking up that day.

"He doesn't wait for an invitation, does he?" Katie laughed. She realized she wasn't scared anymore. She knew he wasn't going to hurt, despite what she'd been taught to believe.

"You have no idea," Monroe replied, leading her towards the kitchen with his hand on the small of her back.

"What do you teach?" Monroe asked her as they sat at the table. Nick was perched on the counter again, with his coffee, devouring the fresh muffins Monroe had made.

"AP Lit. ninth to twelfth grade," Katie replied. "It'd be great, if I could just convince them that watching the movie isn't just as good as reading the book."

"Yeah, Katie's that great teacher that always makes sure to add an essay question that can only be answered if you read the book ten times," Nick teased.

Katie stuck her tongue out at him and started to reply when his phone rang.

"Burkhardt," he answered it, heading out of the room. A minute later, he came back in. "Sorry, Monroe, we have to cut it short. That was work. I've got to go in. Come on, Katie. I'll take drop you off on the way."

Katie started to get up reluctantly.

"I can take her back," Monroe offered. "I mean, if you're in a hurry," he stammered.

Nick looked at Katie. She looked content and he knew he could trust Monroe. If he hadn't believed it before, he definitely did now. "Up to you."

She looked at Nick, then at Monroe. Everything her mother and Aunt Marie had told her was screaming in her head, she knew she should be leaving with Nick, but she heard herself saying, "Yeah, that's fine. Go ahead."

"You're sure?"

"Yeah," she replied. "I'll check in, in a bit."

"Okay," Nick shrugged and left.

* * *

><p>Two check ins later, Katie was still with Monroe. He'd cooked her lunch, showed her some of the more rare clocks he had, they had walked in his garden, and now she was sitting on his couch with her leg propped up with pillows and glass of lemonade in her hand. If anything, she didn't want to leave, even though she knew she must be keeping him from working.<p>

Monroe, on the other hand, didn't want Katie to ever leave. He didn't care that he'd be up all night working on the 18th century pocket watch he had to turn over to the owner the next morning, or that he had to go downtown the next day to work on the clock in the tower at the courthouse. All he knew was that he wanted that delicate, laughing creature to stay with him forever. And as much as that freaked him out, he just couldn't make himself suggest taking her home.

After the third time Nick had called, he was getting a little insulted. He thought that he'd shown he wasn't that kind of Blutbad anymore. "You and Nick are awfully close, aren't you?" he asked.

"You mean, 'Nick's really protective of you' don't you?" She smiled.

"Yeah," he admitted, caught for the moment.

"Yeah, he is," she replied. "But with good reason. When our folks died, I was six and he was all of twelve. Anyway, Aunt Marie, she was a wonderful person and I'd hate to think what might have happened to us without her, but she just wasn't meant to be a parent. She was good with the big stuff, you know, roof over our heads, clothes on our backs, all that stuff, but she didn't see the smaller things. Like, making sure I did my homework, that I ate breakfast, had lunch money, telling me not to get into strange vans to pet puppies, all that. That was left up to Nick. He was the one I went to when I had trouble. At twelve he was effectively my parent. He's always been like this. Being a cop has just made it worse, too. He calls me at least twice a day to make sure I'm still here. Not really sure why. He does the same thing to Juliette if she isn't at the clinic."

After the state she'd been in the first time Monroe had seen her, he could imagine why Nick called to see if she was still there, but he didn't say anything about it. Nick had already told him that she pretty much refused to discuss Tommy or the abuse, holding to that they were accidents, and he didn't want to do anything to make her want to leave.

"Speaking of which, maybe I better go before he comes busting in here with SWAT," she joked. "By the way, he didn't tell me, how did you meet Nick?"

Monroe smirked, "He came busting in here with SWAT."

"What? No way!"

He nodded. "Yeah, it was pretty sad, actually. A little girl had been abduct from the park over there and he saw me watching him. I guess, either he had never seen a wesen and I freaked him out, or else he thought I was watching out of guilty conscience or something. He decided I had taken the girl. Unfortunately, it took quite some time and a search of my house to disabuse him of that notion. I was just watching him because I'd never seen a Grimm before."

"So, why are you friends with him now?" she asked. "I don't think I could just forgive something that big."

He shrugged. "He needed my help and there was a little girl out there in real trouble. I couldn't turn my back on that. It just sort of developed from there."

"Well, I'd still have to kick his butt for something like that. After we found the girl, of course. You did find the girl?"

He nodded, "Fortunately, before too much damage could be done."

He stood up and helped her to her feet.

As Katie stood up, she wrapped her arms around his neck. "I just wanted to thank you. I would have died in that house. Who would have ever thought a Blutbad would be my savior?" She kissed his cheek softly.

Monroe wasn't used to affection like this. He want to push her away, tell her she had the wrong guy, and he wanted to pull her close and never let her go at the same time. He ended up hugging her awkwardly.

She let go and stepped away. "Well, thank you anyway."

"My pleasure," he replied, and realized that it really was.

When he helped her to the door at Nick's, she placed a piece of paper in his hand. She kissed his cheek again and disappeared into the house.

He looked at the note. It was just a hastily scribbled number and "Call me sometime, if you ever want too."

Katie wasn't sure what had gotten into her. She was still a married woman and he was a blutbad. Still, all she could think about as he drove off was that she hoped he used that number some time soon.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: Grimm is owned by NBC. I'm just borrowing the characters for a while.

**Thanks to all who have read and reviewed. I love this fandom.**

_A/N: The flashbacks set to when Katie and Monroe met are set during the series somewhere between the episode where Monroe shoots the Ogre and when he gets beaten up by the Reapers. I made up the time frames. I assume that not all of Nick's cases involve a Wesen character. So more time passes between episodes than the show leads us to believe._

_**Monroe's parents are mentioned in the show but not named so I gave his dad a name.**_

* * *

><p>Monroe didn't know why he was doing it. He knew it was crazy. Katie was human, she was married, and she was Nick's sister. Normally, that wouldn't have bothered him, but that meant she was one stupid decision away from being a Grimm herself and at the rate Nick was going lately, that wouldn't take too long. A Grimm and a Blutbad couldn't date. It was ridiculous. Still, he kept finding reasons to talk to her. It would be his dad who finally told him why he was so attracted to her.<p>

After his bout with the Reapers, she'd shown up on his doorstep and when she saw him, insisted on clean his wounds up. She sat him down at the table and heated some water. She was so serious as tended to the cuts and bruises on his face. He couldn't help but laugh at the look on her face. He knew he should tell her that as a Blutbad, his wounds would heal quickly, but it felt nice to have someone taking care of him for once, so he let her go on. She cooked dinner for him and insisted that he needed to stay awake.

"Why do I need to stay awake all night?" he asked.

"You got hit in the head and passed out," she replied. "You might have a concussion and you shouldn't go to sleep. Not really sure why, but that's what I was told." She curled up on the sofa beside him with his head in her lap. She ran her fingers through his hair.

He definitely liked that. He kept repeating the things he'd been telling himself in the weeks past. She was married, she was human, she was one step from a Grimm. He'd never dated a human. His high school girlfriend, Molly, had been a Fuchsbau, and Angelina was Angelina. He hadn't really seriously dated anyone else. A few other Blutbads, but that was dangerous as most weren't reformed, so to speak. He'd just decided that after Angelina's last disappearance, he was through with all that. It was easier to be by himself than trying to fight the instinct to hunt and kill all the time. He had an Aunt that was human, so he knew Blutbads could be with humans, unlike Jagerbars and Lowens, but it took a lot of restraint on the part of the Blutbad. She and his Uncle had always seemed happy and they had about six kids, so maybe that part wasn't so hard.

Not to mention, she hadn't said or done anything to indicate she wanted to be more than just friends. He decided he was a masochist as he laid there with her arms around his neck.

Katie laid her arm across his chest. "I wouldn't blame you if you cut ties with us. Nick's going to get himself killed and anyone else with the misfortune to be with him. He doesn't know enough and he doesn't care to learn it till its almost too late."

"Why is that? I would have thought your aunt would have told him more," Monroe asked. That had always puzzled him. Usually Grimms at least knew about the family business, so to speak.

"She didn't think she'd have to. At three, I told my mom that the lady next door had rabbit ears and whiskers but only if you looked at her when she wasn't watching you. Turns out the lady was harrinstien. That, and that fact that in our family its usually females who become Grimms, they decided to teach me about it and leave Nick in the dark. I would try to tell Nick but he told that it was just stupid stories mom made up to make me shut up and go to sleep. Not really sure why he thought stories about creatures that would tear me to shreds would be good bedtime reading though. Anyway, by the time she realized that it was going to be Nick and not me, it was too late. She found out about the cancer and was gone in about three months. I guess she thought she'd have more time. I don't know. We'd had a falling out and she wasn't exactly talking to me."

"Really?"

"I wanted to leave Tommy and she thought I shouldn't," Katie shrugged. "She didn't want me to marry him in the first place and after I did... It was like, I knew he was abusive, I married him anyway, so she was done. She was a big believer in bed, made, lie. She thought it was better for me to be with Tom than by myself, even if things weren't always so great. I hope that wasn't a statement on my ability to attract men."

"If you knew that he hit you, then why did you marry him?" Monroe asked. He'd never understood that.

She smiled, slightly. "Why does anyone get married at 18?"

"You were.."

"Yeah," Katie interrupted. "She died. Sarah. It wasn't his fault.., or mine. It just happened. She was born too early. There was nothing..., nothing anyone could do. We had her two days before...," She shook her head to clear it. She didn't like to talk about her daughter. "Anyway, things kind of fell apart after that."

Monroe sat up wrapped his arms around Katie, pulling her to him. Katie laid her head against his chest. He tucked her head under his chin. "Oh, Kate."

Katie knew she needed to run. She knew she needed leave. She was getting way too close to him. She had only ever been with Tommy. She didn't know how she was supposed to act. She hadn't dated anyone since she was 16. Not to mention, he was a Blutbod. All she knew was that she liked the way his arms felt around her. It went against everything she'd been taught, but she felt safe and she hadn't felt that way in years.

* * *

><p>Monroe woke up to someone knocking on the door. He was still on the sofa with Katie laying across his chest. He smiled and brushed her hair back.<p>

"I think Nick is looking for you," he said, shaking her gently.

Katie sat up and rubbed her eyes. "So much for keeping you awake," she laughed.

He smirked. "I'm okay. I'd better answer the door." As he walked out, Katie ran her fingers through her hair and did her best to straighten her clothes out.

Monroe answered the door.

"Dad!" He was shocked to see the older man standing on his doorstep.

"Hey, Son." Sam Monroe smiled. "You look like hell. Didn't your mom tell you I was coming by?"

Monroe groaned. He had forgotten about that. He nodded. He hadn't seen his parents since he'd started helping Nick and he wasn't sure how they were going to react to the news. And with Angelina knowing, he knew they knew as well.

"Can I come in?" Sam asked.

Monroe hesitated. He knew his Dad was 'reformed.' He didn't hunt or kill anymore, hadn't in years, but Katie was part of the Kessler Family. "Uh..,"

"Come on," Sam smiled. "I bought donuts." He held up a bag.

"Yeah, sure," Monroe said finally as he couldn't think of a reason to send him away, not with everything else that was going on.

He led him into the living room, trying to keep himself between Katie and Sam. "Dad, this is Katie Jones. Katie, this is my dad."

"Oh, I see," Sam grinned, then he held his hand out to Katie. "Sam Monroe. It's nice to meet you."

Katie shook his hand and smiled. "Likewise." She gathered up her coat and purse. "I'll just get out of your way." She headed towards the door. "It was really nice to meet you, Mr. Monroe." Monroe went to show her out.

"Sam," he smiled.

"You're really okay?" She asked at the door, reaching up to touch his bruised cheek.

"I'm fine," He replied. He put his hand on her neck and chin and kissed her cheek. "I'll call you later."

Monroe didn't think he breathed until Katie was safely in her car. He found Sam in the kitchen, trying to start the coffee pot.

"Here," he said, going over to the machine. "I'll do it." He was irrationally annoyed at this intrusion to his life, especially that he'd forgotten about it. He wished that whatever his dad wanted, he'd spit it out already.

Sam shrugged and sat down at the table. Monroe handed him a cup of coffee and stood at the counter with his.

"You know, Eddie," Sam said, blowing on the coffee. "I don't always understand the strict lifestyle you have going here, so far be for me to tell how to do it, but screwing a Red Cap probably isn't the best way to go about it."

"Dad...wait...What?" Monroe was confused.

"That's the Grimm's sister, isn't it?" Sam asked. "Kessler's niece?"

"Yeah."

"She's a Red Cap," Sam repeated.

Monroe continued to stared at him.

"You mean, I know something about this that you don't?" Sam asked, intrigued. "A Red Cap. Little Red Riding Hood. Although, I guess she isn't that little."

"You mean Katie is a Wesen?" Monroe asked. He'd never heard of this before, but then he'd never looked very far into the Grimm side of their world.

"No, she's human," Sam said, drinking his coffee. "More or less. She probably has some gifts. They tend to be more empathic than normal humans. Definitely more so than their relatives.. Read the real story of Little Red Cap. The Red Caps were the Grimm's daughters. They also tend to attract Wesen, good and bad. Think about it, in those old stories, the animals in the forests were always helping the little girls out. They are bit naive, always see the good in people. They tend to to be almost reckless in their devotion to the ones they love. Makes them easy targets. Klaustriechs love them."

"And abusive men," Monroe said, starting to realize.

"Right," Sam agreed. "Anyway, if you want to just live and let live, you'd better leave her alone. She's trouble with a capital T."

"Why?" Monroe asked. He felt like Nick. He'd have to research this for himself, for all he knew his dad was feeding him a line of bull.

"Because they attract wesens and humans that are good and bad, and most need a lot of protection because they don't see the difference until its too late. If you get into a relationship with her, you'd better be prepared to do just that. Though, I don't think you'd have much problem with that." He smiled over the rim of his cup.

"What does that mean?" Monroe asked, suspiciously.

"You were ready to jump on _me_ if I got too close to her," Sam replied. "Not that that's a bad thing entirely. There comes a time when you have to stop running wild and settle down, start a pack of your own. That starts with finding a mate and doing anything to protect them. You might see things differently then."

"Somehow, I don't think Katie is what you came here to discuss," Monroe said, closing the conversation.

"No. Its about the Grimm and what you've been doing."

"Yeah? And? Am I out of the family now?"

"And be careful," Sam said. "Your mom is worried about you. I am too."

"Be careful? That's all your going say?" Monroe asked. He'd been expecting fireworks at least.

Sam shrugged, "What else is there to say? You can handle yourself. I think you know when to fang out and when to be cool by now. Just remember there are things in this world bigger and badder than us."

"You're not mad?" Monroe said. He had a feeling he was being set up.

"No. Why should I be? You're doing what you think is right. That's all any of us can do," he sighed. "We all have to decide if we're going to be monster or man. I can't tell you which to be, just like my dad couldn't tell me. I help a Grimm once. I led her to Blutbad that was killing whole villages of children in the full moon. Well, you know what happened with Kessler and your Grandfather."

"You led her to Grandpa?" Monroe's eyes got wide.

"Well, he was senile and killing kids," Sam said, sadly. "I couldn't let that go on. I tried to help him, but he was too far gone. At least he had an honorable death against Marie. I just couldn't let him keep killing children, Son. I'm not proud of it, but I did what I had to do. I mean, if something had dragged one of you kids off, I'd have gladly ripped their throats out. Those children were somebodies babies too."

"Wow, Dad. Wow." Monroe didn't really know what to say. He sat down at the table with him. "Any other bombshells you want to drop on me today?"

"Nah," Sam grinned. "I was hoping you'd at least go to lunch with me before I headed back to Seattle."

"Of course," Monroe smiled. "I'll just go get dressed." He headed upstairs.

"You know, that Red Cap does have a nice ass," Sam said.

"Dad!" Monroe growled.

"Kidding," Sam smirked. "Just kidding." He shook his head at his son's retreating back. Eddie was his oldest, and he glad to see signs that he wanted to settle down with a pack of his own finally.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: Grimm is owned by NBC. I'm just borrowing the characters for a while.

**Thanks to all who have read and reviewed. I love this fandom.**

**A/N: The views on the book mentioned in this chapter is completely tongue in cheek and not meant to offend anyone.**

_Finally, some Monroe kicking ass time!_

* * *

><p>After Katie filed for divorce, she pretty much hid herself in the house. She was afraid of what Tommy would do when he got the papers. He'd always told her that the only way she would leave him was in a box. She went to work and back home everyday, but no where else. She wouldn't go to the store, she wouldn't go to the park, and she wouldn't go to Monroe's. When Nick wasn't home, she'd check the locks every few minutes. She jumped at every knock at her classroom door, even though she knew there was very little way he could get into the school.<p>

After 4 weeks of that, Monroe had had enough. He showed up at Nick's house one day after work.

"Hey," Katie jumped to her feet and hugged him as he came into the kitchen. "What are you doing here?"

"Springing you," he replied. "Your ex should be the one in jail, not you."

"Amen," Juliette interjected. "I've been telling her that for weeks now. Would you like something to drink?"

Katie knew they had met during the whole Ariel ordeal. She still wasn't sure how Nick had managed to keep the Grimm thing secret, especially after she was kidnapped by a damonfeuer, but Juliette just thought Monroe was a investigator friend of Nick's.

"No, thank you," Monroe replied. "Come on, Kate, I'm taking you to dinner."

Katie started to protest. "I..,"

"You know it will be safe," he cut her off. For a second, his brown eyes flickered red. Not as a threat or a warning, but more as a reminder that he could handle anything a human like Tommy could throw at him.

Katie glanced at Juliette to see if she'd noticed, but she was busy at the sink. "Okay," she said after a moment. It would do her good to get out of the house and more to the point, she wanted to spend more time with Monroe. "Let's go."

* * *

><p>Katie was glad she'd decided to go. They gone to a little bistro and had spent the better part of 3 hours laughing and talking. Finally, they were lingering over coffee, neither really wanting to end the evening.<p>

"So," Katie said. "If Monroe is your last name, what is your first name?"

"Eddie," he admitted. "Edward, actually."

Katie started to laugh, then ducked her head to cover and clam her face.

"What?" he asked.

"Nothing, nothing."

"I saw that. What are you thinking?"

She smiled. "Remember that I teach teenage girls. Edward is a vampire. Not a...,"

"Vampires do not sparkle," he replied, but he smiling too. "I thought you taught classic literature."

"I do," Katie said. "We don't read that in class, but if they want to read on their own time, I'm not going to discourage them. Even if it is about sparkling Vampires and teenage werewolfs. It's brain candy and I figure as long as I feed them some classics like Jane Eyre, and The Grapes of Wrath, a little candy is okay now and then."

"Brain Candy, huh?" He stood up and threw some cash down for the ticket. "Come on, Bella, let's go before they kick us out."

"Oh, don't even go there," she said, standing up and taking his hand. Outside the restaurant, Katie laced her fingers through his as they walked towards his car.

Monroe stiffened. He recognized the scent in the air, but wasn't exactly sure from where. He looked at Katie, but she didn't seem to notice it. It put him on edge. As they passed a black SUV, suddenly all four doors opened and four men got out, blocking their path.

"Katelyn. Its time to come home." Monroe recognized Tommy from the hospital. At his words, Katie clutched Monroe's hand tighter and pressed herself closer to his side.

"You can't talk to me, Tommy. Get out of here before I call the cops," she said with bravado she didn't feel.

A feral growl rattled in Monroe's throat as he pushed Katie behind him slightly. "Get out of our way," he said, low and menacing.

Tommy looked Monroe up and down. He didn't know who Katie was out with, but he decide the man didn't look like much. "I'm warning you to stay out of it. This is between me and my wife."

"Tommy just stop," Katie said through clenched teeth. She was still holding Monroe's hand and could feel his nails against her skin and knew he struggling not to morph.

Tommy snickered. "Gotta have your girlfriend take up for you?" He gave Monroe a shove. He was shocked when the older man didn't move.

"Get. Out. Of. Our. Way." Monroe repeated.

"Son of bitch, you think you're tough, don't you?" Tommy asked. He clenched his fist and swung at Monroe.

Monroe pushed Katie back out of the way and caught Tommy's hand and threw him across the pavement.

Tommy landed with a thud. "Get him." He motioned to his friends to go after Monroe as he got to his feet.

Monroe caught the first one with a punch and sent him reeling to the ground. Another he manage to swipe with his claws. By the time he turned to the third, he had fully morphed.

"What the hell?" The man yelled. He held up his hands and back away a few steps before running.

Tommy had gotten to his feet to intent on getting to Katie to notice Monroe's appearance. He charged at him. Monroe caught him and easily lifted him and flung him bodily against the back of the SUV. A sickening crunch was heard before he hit the ground.

"_What the fuck are you_?" Tommy asked, trying to get to his feet.

"Eddie, stop!" Katie screamed. "He's not worth it! STOP!" Monroe turned towards her. She realized that she'd never seen him in wolf form. She hadn't realize how strong he was. "Let's just get out of here," she said. "He's not worth it."

In the seconds that intervened, Tommy's friends had managed to get him up and themselves back in the SUV. They peeled out of parking lot, leaving Katie and Monroe alone.

Monroe was already morphing back to human form, but Katie could tell it wouldn't take much for him to follow Tommy. She flung herself against his chest, wrapped her arms around his waist and nuzzled his neck. "Its okay, Baby. I'm fine," she said. "We're fine. Calm down."

After what seemed like forever of her doing that, she felt him go slack and wrap his arms around her.

Monroe looked down at Katie, still pressed up against him. She was shaking and he wasn't sure if it was from the sight of Tommy or him. Since she was holding him so tightly against her, he decided to assume it was her ex that had scared her. He pressed his lips against hers in a fierce kiss. Her mouth was hot and sweet and her scent filled his senses. She slid her arms around his neck and clung to him, kissing him back with just as much passion. He pressed her harder against himself. He wasn't sure how long they had stayed like that, but he was pretty sure he couldn't go back to just being her friend.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Okay, so the pregnancy in the last chapter was a bit over the top, but I just couldn't find any other convincing reason she would get married so young to someone who had hit her.**

_Also, for you Hap fans, he's waiting in the wings, practically dancing to get to tell me his part in all this in the next chapter. LOL_.


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: Grimm is owned by NBC. I'm just borrowing the characters for a while.

**Thanks to all who have read and reviewed.**

Love this Fandom!

* * *

><p>Monroe groaned as he opened the door. Why was it that everyone thought his house was open to the public? He was trying to get some work done.<p>

"Hey, Dude! I thought you'd fallen off the face of the earth or something," Hap Lasser said, pushing past him. He hadn't seem Hap since Rolf's killer had been caught and Angelina had left town again.

"Well, come on in, Hap," Monroe said, sarcastically. Unfortunately, sarcasm was often lost on those as good-natured and simple as Hap.

"Thanks!" Hap grinned. He sat down on the sofa.

Monroe had to laugh. "What is it?" It was hard to stay irritated at Hap. He did hope to get him to his point quickly though.

"Aw, man, Dude," Hap said, shaking his head. "I was hoping, well, you know that Grimm friend of yours, I was hoping that he'd talk to Micah. You know, kind of a 'scared straight' thing Grimm-style."

"Micah? Rolf's son?" Monroe asked.

"Yeah, man. Since Rolf died, Mary, his wife, she hasn't been doing to well and the boys are running over top of her, so I kinda stepped in," he shrugged. "Jake's doing pretty good but, Dude, I am in way over my head with Micah. I went from cool Uncle Hap who led them in burping contest, to the heavy who has to get on their butts when they're out of line. Micah doesn't listen to me. Maybe actually meeting a Grimm and seeing they really exist would straighten him up for a while."

"He might," Monroe said. It did seem like the kind of good-deed doing Nick was into. "Although it might backfire on you. He seems to want to help every young wesen he runs across. Instead of scaring him straight, he'll probably be offering him milk and cookies."

"Hell, anything would be better than what I'm doing. I think he's beginning to hate me." He ran a hand through his hair.

Monroe had never seen Hap look this disturbed. Usually he was just carefree and happy. "What's going on?"

"Oh just stupid kid stuff. Getting in trouble at school, staying out all night, being a butt head to Jake and Mary, getting drunk, you know, teenage stuff, but he's taking it to the extremes. Then there's Angie. She ain't helping things, buying him beer, telling him he needs to avenge Rolf, that kind of crap. If I left them up to her, she'd have them running all over the countryside, killing everything that moved," Hap said.

Monroe was shocked. He'd never heard Hap speak badly about Angelina. No matter how far out there she was being.

"Rolf was a good guy," Hap plowed on. "He tried to raise his boys to be good guys. I feel like I owe it to him to keep them headed that way, you know?"

"Yeah," Monroe agreed. He couldn't believe this was 'let's go get some pork and whiskey and get wasted' Hap talking. "I'll get Nick to call you. You know, not that I have any experience in this, but the best thing you can do is just be there and keep being there, even when he messes up. At least, that's what my dad always did." He looked at his watch. He wasn't used to having such heavy conversations with Hap. "Its lunch time. Let's get something to eat."

"Alright!" Hap bounced to his feet. "Let's get a pizza. Vegetarian, of course. Well, maybe a few pepperonis. On half."

* * *

><p>While they waited for their pizza, Hap was back to his usual self. He was looking around, touching everything. Normally, Monroe wouldn't have cared, but Hap was a bit like a bull in china shop. He never meant to break things, he just some how did.<p>

In the kitchen, he came across the sweater Katie had left behind a few nights before.

"Dude! You're dating a human," Hap declared with a smile. "Alright, Monroe!"

"Hap," he growled in frustration.

"I know, I know," Hap said, putting down the sweater. "Don't touch anything. But, you are dating her right? You didn't, like, eat her or anything, did you?"

"Yes, Hap. I ate her and kept her sweater around as a memento," He replied, forgetting that sarcasm was lost on Hap.

Hap's eyes got as big as saucers for a minute, then he started laughing. "You had me going there for a minute, Dude. Now, give up some details. Who is it? What does she look like?"

"Um.., her name is Katie," Monroe replied. He wasn't sure how much he wanted to tell Hap. Hap was Angelina's brother after all, and he never knew when he would turn from cussing her to fighting anyone who might hurt her. "She's um.. Nick's sister."

Hap's eyes got big again. "Katie Jones?"

"You know her?" Monroe asked, confused.

"Well, we've met," Hap said. "She teaches Micah. I had to go down to the school and meet with her after she had to put him out of class. It came out when she admitted she knew he was a Blutbad. She's kinda hot, man."

"Yeah," Monroe replied, a little irritated, even though he knew Hap didn't mean any harm.

"Okay, what's the problem?"

"What do you mean?"

"I know that look," Hap said. "You're brooding about something. Come on, spill it. I told you my problems."

Monroe gave him a look. There was no way he was going to spill his guts to Hap about this.

Suddenly Hap got a knowing look on his face. "You've never been with a human girl before, have you?" he laughed.

Monroe groaned. He definitely wasn't having this conversation with Hap.

"Look, I've dated lots of girls. It's really not that big of a deal," Hap said. "Just take it slower, easier, and it should be fine. Trust me. Now, where is that pizza guy?" He was looking out the window again. He was as glad as Monroe was that _that_ conversation was over.

* * *

><p>It was the night of the Lowen games that Monroe finally admitted to himself how much he really felt for Katie.<p>

She was sitting on his steps when he got home. He smiled. He hadn't been expecting to see her there, but he was happy not to be coming home to an empty house again.

She stood up as he came up the walk. "Knowing my brother is going to get you killed," she said.

"Maybe, but it has its benefits," he said. He pulled her to him and kissed her. "It definitely has its benefits." He kissed her harder, lifting her up in his arms.

"Does it now?" She smiled, wrapping her arms around his neck. She kissed him back, kissing a trail down his neck. "I kind of like it too."

Monroe sat at his table with a glass of wine. He was almost through his second glass and he still couldn't shake free of the negative emotions the night had brought up.

Katie was sitting beside him, listening to him try to describe the games.

He was holding her hand. He kept moving her chair closer and closer to him. He just wanted her close to him. He set his empty glass down.

"There are reasons to fight, but to entertain is not one of them. I may be a monster, but I refuse to allow anyone to force me to be that for their own gain."

Katie set her own glass down, then moved to stand in front of him. She sat down on his lap and made him look at her. "You are lots of things, Eddie, but a monster isn't one of them. You are a Blutbad, true, but you are also kind and smart and caring. You'll go out of your way to help a friend. Hell, you put yourself in danger to help the police find a little girl you'd never met, after those same cops had accused you of taking her. Tonight you refused to hurt an already injured man, knowing that it meant your own death. Does that sound like a monster to you?" She leaned in and kissed him. "It doesn't to me and I would know. Not all wesens are monsters and not all humans are good."

Monroe put his arms around her waist and kissed her. She kissed him back deeply. She shifted against him and moaned as he kissed and bit her neck gently.

"Bedroom?" he whispered.

"Oh, definitely," Katie agreed, fervently.

* * *

><p>AN: Sorry, the last part is kind of lame. I'm not too good at writing that yet.


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: Grimm is owned by NBC. I'm just borrowing the characters for a while.

Thanks to all who have read and reviewed.

Love this Fandom!

* * *

><p>"Because they're my babies and it the last time some of them will ever play," Katie said into her cell phone. Monroe was cooking dinner for them and didn't see why she'd suddenly decided to attend an after school football game. "Besides, the principal realized I haven't chaperoned a game all year and since this is pretty much the last one, I have to."<p>

"Ah, the truth comes out," he laughed. "Isn't this the wrong time of year for football?"

"Yeah. Its just scrimmage game. A chance for the outgoing seniors to beat a bunch of incoming freshman and pretend they've actually done something," Katie replied.

"What time will you be done?" Monroe asked.

"Oh, seven, I think," she replied. "You still want me to come over when I'm done?"

"Of course."

"Okay, I'll see you about seven thirty then."

"I'll be waiting," he said.

"Bye." Katie hung up the phone with a smile. For the first time she could remember, everything in her life was going right. Her divorce had been finalized. She had gotten a house of her own and finally moved out of Nick's, even if it was just a few blocks away, Best of all, she hadn't seen or heard from Tommy since that night in the parking lot. Well, except for in court, but then there was 2 armed bailiffs between them. He'd even agreed to the terms of the divorce without a fight.

She locked up her classroom and headed to the stadium down the block eager to start her night.

* * *

><p>The game ended as Katie had predicted with the upperclassmen practically burying the underclassmen, but it was all in good fun. As the last kid left the field, Katie headed out of the stadium. She looked for the other teacher on duty, but didn't see her. Figuring she'd already left, Katie headed towards the parking lot. She was searching for her phone to call Monroe and let him know that she was on her way as she reached her car.<p>

"Hello, Katie." Tommy was leaning against her car.

She jumped. She started pushing buttons on her phone, hoping to trip redial or emergency call or something that would help. For once, she wished that the school officials would have allowed her to carry the gun Nick had insisted on getting for her. She looked around the nearly deserted parking lot. No one was out. Of course, all the players and coaches were in the locker room. She wondered if she could scream loud enough to bring them outside.

"Go away, Tommy. Don't make me call the police," she said. "It's over. Just let it be over."

Tommy smiled and shook his head. He took a step towards her. "See, I don't think it is. Do you remember those vows we took? I do. Till death do us part, Katelyn. I'm not dead. You're not dead. Yet. So I don't really see how its over."

She took a step back.

"Where's your 'friend' tonight?" he asked. "What the hell have you gotten yourself mixed up with? That son of bitch broke two of my ribs."

"Good," she snapped. "Keep fucking with me and he'll do worse." She stepped back again.

"Oh, such a nasty mouth," Tommy sneered. "I'll enjoy cleaning it up."

Katie started to scream when a meaty hand closed over her mouth from behind. An arm closed around her waist like a vise. She started fighting, kicking and hitting at the man behind her. She had been so focused on Tommy that she'd never seen anyone moving up behind her. She bit down on the hand over her mouth, then felt herself falling as the man shoved her away. Her bag went flying away from her.

"She bit me," he exclaimed. "Stupid bitch! You're dead!"

Tommy grabbed her by the arm and dragged her to her feet. Before she could scream again, he pressed something hard and cold against her ribs. "If you don't want me to blow a hole through you, you'll shut up and come with me."

He forced her into his car. "I told you it was time to come home, Katie darling. I'm willing to forgive the fling you've been having, after you pay for it."

Katie gasped.

"Oh yes," Tommy said. He sat beside her with the gun still jammed in her ribs and his arm around her neck, while his friend drove. "Do you really think you can do anything I won't find out about? I know every night you spent in that freaks house. Funny, I'd have never thought you were that kind."

"He's more of a man than you'll ever be," she said. She'd decided that if he was going to kill her anyway, she wasn't going to go without a fight.

Tommy hit her across the mouth. "Shut up! You don't talk. I'll do the talking. You do what I say!"

Katie tasted blood in her mouth. She had to think of a way out of the car. As they came up to a red light, she saw her chance. She drove her elbow into his stomach as hard as she could.

He gasped and loosened his grip on her for a second.

Katie was ready. She slid across the seat and fumbled with the lock to get the door open. As soon as her feet hit the ground she started running. She knew Tommy wouldn't be far behind her. She slipped and slid as she crossed the ditch. If she could get back to the school, there should still be some people there.

Tommy got out behind her. He ran after her a few steps, then shot.

Katie felt the bullet go through her side as she fell.

Tommy reached her as she got back to her feet. He hit her across the head with the barrel of the gun and she fell again. "I didn't want to do this, Katie, but you made me," he said, kicking her. "I just wanted you to come home, but you wouldn't listen." He kicked her again and again till she stopped trying to get up.

* * *

><p>At 7:45 Monroe started to get worried. At 8, he started calling her phone. It wasn't like Katie to be late and not call. By 9, he was going out to look for her. He was headed out the door when his phone rang. He looked at the number. It was Nick.<p>

"Hello?"

"Monroe? Its Juliette. Katie's been hurt. It's pretty bad. We're at the hospital. I just thought you may want to be here."

His heart dropped. He had known something was wrong. "What happened?"

"I'm not sure," she said. "Nick's talking to the doctors now."

"Okay. I'm on my way."

When Monroe got to the hospital, Nick was pacing the lobby like a caged animal.

"What happened?" Monroe asked.

Nick looked at him for a minute confused. "He caught her in the stadium parking lot, forced her to get in his car, and when she tried to escape he shot her. Then he proceeded to stand over her and kicked her until some guys pulled him off her. Thank goodness he was stupid enough to do it in a residential area and people heard the gun shot. The five minutes she's been alone in 6 months and he got to her. He had to be stalking her. I should have known that he'd pull something. He let the divorce go through way too easily."

"How's Katie?"

"They don't know. She hasn't woke up. She's in ICU." Nick said.

The wolf roared to life. Monroe dug his nails in to his hands to keep from morphing right there. "I'll be back." He had to get away from people and get himself under control.

When he walked out, Nick looked at Juliette. "Did you call Monroe?"

She nodded.

"Why?"

In any other situation, she would have laughed. Master Detective Burkhardt had a huge blind spot where Katie was concerned. "He's her friend," she said. "And since Tommy has cut her off from virtually everyone else but us, I figured she needs all the friends she can get. Nick, come sit down."

He sat down beside her. "She has to be okay, Jules. She has to be."

Juliette put her arms around him. "She will be."

He hugged her hard. "I'm going to talk to Monroe. Will you wait here in case...," he let his words fall unsure of what that in case could entail.

"I'll be here," she said.

He found Monroe outside the front entrance.

"Where is the bastard?" Monroe asked.

"In custody. He's was in central booking last I heard. That's why I'm here. If I go there, I'm going to forget that I'm a cop and not stop until he's in a casket. If he gets out this time, I don't care if they put me in the state penitentiary, I'm going to kill him."

"You won't be alone." Monroe said. He was feeling more in control, but just barely. He couldn't believe this had happened. She had assured him it was safe. Just a few parents and friends of the players at this game. She was his mate and it was his job to protect her.

"Come on," Nick said. "Let's go back in. Maybe she's awake by now."


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: Grimm is owned by NBC. I'm just borrowing the characters for a while.

Thanks to all who have read and reviewed.

Love this Fandom!

* * *

><p>Nick, Monroe, and Juliette had stayed all night in the waiting room. Nick kept telling them to go home, get some rest, that he'd call them if anything changed, but neither of the other two made any moves to leave. Juliette seemed to just want to be near Nick like she was afraid he was going to snap if the news he heard was bad. She kept her hand on him somehow, through the whole night.<p>

Nick kept pacing the room and he must have called the station a hundred times. He'd found out Jones was in a cell and would be arraigned and bail set in the morning.

Monroe knew he wasn't leaving until Katie told him too. Or they told him that she never would. Besides, he knew that if he left the hospital he'd go to the jail and take Tommy out. He was a Blutbad, it wouldn't be that hard to get himself thrown in jail. Once in there, he'd be done before the guards could even get the bars unlocked.

He struggled not to shift. He found himself formulating plans to get thrown in jail. In wolf form, there wasn't much he couldn't take out. Including the locked doors that was keeping him out there in the waiting room. He was practically snarling for the taste of Tommy's blood and even at his worst, he hadn't hunted humans. He had never crossed that line.

* * *

><p>Katie didn't wake up till late the next morning. Every part of her hurt. It even hurt to breath. Her head was throbbing and it seemed every muscle was on fire. She didn't know how she got to the hospital. She didn't even remember how she got so beat up. The last thing she remembered was leaving the stadium and then waking up in the hospital. The doctors told her that that was normal when you had a concussion, but they didn't tell her how she got that concussion though she had a pretty good ideal.<p>

The nurses let Nick come in to see her, even though it wasn't visiting hours.

"What happened, Nicholas?" She asked. "I remember leaving the game and that's it until a few minutes ago."

Nick wasn't surprised she didn't remember. "Well, from what we know, Tommy was waiting for you when you left. He forced you to get in his car and when you escaped he shot you, then he knocked you down and kicked you until somebody pulled him off of you."

"Where is he?" She looked panicked.

"He's in jail, Katie. He isn't coming back." Nick said.

"Until his daddy bails him out," she muttered.

"He isn't coming back. Trust me." He tried to change the subject. "Juliette is here. So is Monroe." Big brother or not, the detective did not miss the light that came into her eyes and the small smile that flitted across her bruised face when he said Monroe. "They're worried about you."

"I'll be okay," she said. "I hope."

"You'll be just fine," he told her with a confidence he didn't feel.

* * *

><p>When Monroe finally got to see Katie, the beast in him roared to life. She was covered in tubes and wires. She had a black eye, a bruise on her cheek, a cut along her jaw, and a large purple bruise disappearing in to her hairline.<p>

He sat down beside her and held her hand. He made himself calm down. At this point, he was hoping her ex would be released just so he could hunt him down.

"Don't do it, Eddie," she said.

"Do what?" he asked.

"Whatever it is you're thinking, don't do it."

"Kate, I can't..., I can't let this keep happening to you," he said. "I'm going to do what I have to do to protect you."

"Protect me from what? He's in jail."

"For how long? Katie, I've only known you for five months and in that short time he's damn near killed you twice. Do you really think he's going to stop before you're dead?" His eyes flashed red. "I'm not going to let that happen."

"It's not going to happen."

"Seriously, Kate? Do you see yourself? You're in ICU. Next time it'll be the morgue."

"He's not..."

"No." Monroe interrupted her. "This is so screwed up. Nick doesn't usually have time to even drink a cup of coffee, but he still finds time to call you everyday just to hear that you're alive because he's scared that bastard is going to kill you one day. You are just as scared. You lock your doors a hundred times before you feel safe. You, you should be terrified of me. All those things Marie told you? They're true. Everything in you should be telling you to run away from me, but you're more scared of him! Does that even make sense?"

"I'm not stupid," she said. "I know what he's capable of. I know better than anyone what Tommy can and will do. That's why I know that if he wanted me dead, I would be. He doesn't want me dead. He wants me to suffer. If you go after him now, while he's locked in jail, then it won't be for protection. It'll be for revenge and you're better than that. And for the record, I know what you are capable of as well."

"If he gets out...," Monroe growled.

"If he gets out, we'll deal with that then," she said. "You're better than this and he isn't worth you giving up everything you've worked for."

"No, he's not, but you are," he said.

"And then Nick'll be forced to go after you and I don't want." she stopped. "Just promise me that you won't do it."

He stared at her for a few seconds. He couldn't promise that. "Somehow, I doubt Nick would be that upset."

"Promise me."

He sighed. "I won't go after him while he's in jail. That's the best I can do, Kate. If he gets out, if he comes near you again, he's dead."

"Okay." She smiled. "Now, kiss me and make it better."

Monroe laughed, despite himself, but the wolf was still howling for Tommy's blood.


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: Grimm is owned by NBC. I'm just borrowing the characters for a while.

Thanks to all who have read and reviewed.

Love this Fandom!

* * *

><p><em>Present day<em>

Monroe was sitting on the bed, trying to figure out how to tell Nick that he had been seeing Katie. What would have been an awkward discussion two days before was now going to incredibly sticky. He just didn't see any other way out of telling him right now. He wasn't going to sneak out like some kid caught with his pants down. Well, he knew what to say. It was pretty self explanatory. He just wasn't sure what the fall out would be. Nick was either really cool with things, or really not. There was no in between and would be a lot easier to get the really cool reaction from "I'm dating your sister." than from "I'm banging your sister." which is exactly what his being there at four in the morning said.

"Kate, we have to let Nick know what's going on," he said, as she was getting dressed. "I know you think he's in your business too much as it is, but this isn't a normal situation. Besides, its not like I can hide out the rest of the morning." That wasn't exactly what she'd said. She had said she didn't think Nick needed to know their business until they were sure things were going to work out. He was sure they would, but obviously she wasn't because she'd resisted every attempt to tell Nick before.

"Why? I mean, I know we have to tell him, but not like this," she said.

"Well, Kate what's your solution? We're kind of caught," he said. He pulled her down in his lap and wrapped his arms around her waist. "This isn't really how I thought this conversation would go either, but I'm not leaving you alone and I doubt Nick is either, so I don't really see any other way."

Katie sighed. Nick wasn't going to like this. Nick wasn't going to see how good Eddie was to her or how happy she was, all he was going to see was that she'd left one dangerous man for one that was even more dangerous. "I guess you're right."

* * *

><p>Nick had grown impatient. He wanted things with Katie settled. He was worried and when he was worried, he didn't always think things through. Like coming to Katie's at three in the morning and scaring her when a patrol would have been just as good until daylight. Hank had left to go deal with a situation with their case. Nick was getting fidgety. He hated feeling so useless. He had to do something. Anything. He picked up his phone again. He opened the menu and hit redial. A phone rang in Katie's bedroom. He looked down the hall, slightly confused. He shrugged and hung up, assuming he'd hit the wrong number. He dialed the number again. This time when it rang he knew he had the right number. He turned to look down the hall again. "No," he said to himself, shaking his head. It had to be a coincidence.<p>

He hung up then dialed the number again.

Katie stared at Monroe's phone. She groaned. "Tell me he is not calling you at four in the morning."

"Of course he's calling me at four in the morning. That's what he does," Monroe answered, picking up the phone. It stopped ringing.

"Why are you friends with him again?" she asked.

"Well," he shrugged. "His sister's pretty cute."

The phone started ringing again then stopped, then started again.

"I think he's figured it out," Monroe said. "Might as well get it over with."

Katie opened the door.

Nick was staring at her. "Katelyn, why exactly is Monroe's phone ringing in your bedroom?"

"Um.., because that's where he is," she said, going into the kitchen.

"Really?"

"Yeah, really." Monroe put his arm around her waist.

"Wait..what?" Nick had a look of shock on his face. He didn't really know what to say. He couldn't believe Katie. She'd read Aunt Marie's books. "What the hell? You're dating Monroe? No."

"Nick," Monroe started, but Katie cut him off.

"No? Did you just tell me no? You don't get to tell me that, Nicholas! I am _well_ over the age of needing someone to tell me what to do. I can make my own decisions. The only thing you're mad about is that you didn't know. You don't get to tell me who to date."

"Oh, because you've done such a great job of picking guys so far?" Nick replied. "You cannot date Monroe. No offense, Dude, but NO."

"Oh, gee, Nick, none taken," Monroe snapped.

"Sorry, but, Katie, you think Tommy hurt you? You have no idea what he's capable of!" Nick struggled to put his thoughts together. He knew Monroe and knew Monroe was better than the traits he was assigning to him, but all he could hear was Reed's voice in his head.

'Take care of Katie, son. Katie can't wear red. Katie needs a lot of protection. Don't let Katie talk to strangers. Don't let Katie wear red. You and Kate are special. She really needs you to watch out for her. I'm counting on you, son. You and Katie are special. Take care of your sister. Katie can't wear red.' All of a sudden all of their dad's strange warning from childhood was swimming in his head and were making sense.

"Whoa." Nick ran his hands through his hair. "I don't have time for this. You've got to go to the station and sign the RO. Then I guess I'll take you to the school if you're still determined to go."

"What I'm capable of?" Monroe said, outraged that Nick would even put him in the category with Jones. "Just what are you saying?"

"We'll talk about this later," Nick said, shaking his head. "We've got to get going. I want that RO on the DA's desk when she gets there this morning."

Katie looked at Monroe. It wasn't like Nick to let go of something this easily.

"Look," Monroe said. "Just go with Nick, get all the paperwork settled." He wasn't sure what was wrong with Nick either. "I'll call you. I'll pick you up after work and we'll figure it all out."

"No." Nick said.

"Dude, shut up," Monroe said, annoyed. "Five minutes ago that's exactly what you wanted me to do. Is it really so different now that you know we're dating? If anything, she's even safer with me than you thought."

Nick couldn't deny that he had a point. She was safer. From everyone but Monroe himself. But Monroe hadn't hurt her before. "Fine," he sighed. "Come on. We've got to go."

* * *

><p>All in all, Monroe wasn't surprised when Nick showed up at his door. He was only surprised that it took him until nine to do so.<p>

"Why can't Katie wear red?" He asked as soon as Monroe opened the door.

"Hello to you to," Monroe said, motioning for him to come in.

"Sorry." Nick mumbled. "But why can't Katie wear red?"

Monroe sighed. "Who told you that?"

"Our dad. Along with a lot other warnings that didn't make sense when I twelve," Nick said.

"So they knew? Interesting."

"Knew what?" Nick asked.

"Katie is the daughter of a Grimm," Monroe said.

"Yeah, and?"

"Katie can't wear red because it attracts Blutbadden and she already does that well enough on her on."

"What do you mean?"

"Look, I don't really understand it either," Monroe attempted to explain. "My dad only just told me. Katie is what my ancestors called a Red Cap. They're the daughters of Grimms or really second children, doesn't necessarily have to be girls, I guess."

"Red Caps?" Nick hadn't found anything like that in Marie's books.

"Yeah, the basis of the story of Little Red Riding Hood."

"The Blutbad in that story ate Red Riding Hood," Nick said.

"Only in your version," Monroe said. "My ancestors tell a very different story. I'm pretty sure the truth is somewhere between the two."

"What's your version?"

"Basically that Red wasn't a little girl, she was a maiden promised to be married to a Prince. Anyway, she didn't want to marry him because she was in love with a village boy," Monroe said. "She ran away to be the boy she loved, who just happened to be a Blutbad. When her father came to drag her back to town, the boy shifted to protect his love. They fought and Red was killed in the struggle. Actually, my ancestors' version says her father killed her because she wasn't a virgin anymore and could no longer marry the prince and had disgraced her family. After that, out came the stories of Man-wolves who roamed the woods, robbing young maidens of their virtues and it changed and evolved into the story we know as Little Red Cap or Riding Hood. But like I said, I'm sure the truth is somewhere between the two."

Nick took in this new information. He hadn't thought much about the other side of the stories he was learning again. "What makes you think Katie is a Red Cap or whatever it was you called her? Aunt Marie never said anything. Neither did our parents, now that I think about it. Just a bunch of garbled warnings about if they weren't here anymore."

"Well, they didn't tell you that you would be Grimm, either," Monroe pointed out. "Red Caps are like Grimms. They're humans, more or less, but they have gifts. Like being able to see wesen and not be a Grimm. They attract wesen of all kinds. That's probably what brought them to your ancestors attention in the first place. They also tend to attract abusive types, wesen and people, because they are naive and loyal to a fault. Klaustriechs love them, as do men like Tommy Jones, because they're easy to manipulate and very unlike to get the law involved."

"And they stay with them because they're loyal to a fault," Nick said. Well, that at least explained why Katie had taken so much before she decided to leave.

Monroe nodded.

"Look, Monroe," Nick said, now that his questions were somewhat answered. "I appreciate all you've done for Katie and for me and I know how different you are, but I can't let her be hurt anymore. Just don't date her."

"Well, with all due respect, Nick, the only person who can tell me that is Kate," Monroe said. "I'm not going to hurt her. I couldn't if I wanted to. She's my mate. I'll do everything in my power to protect her but the only way I'll leave her is if she tells me too."

Nick stared at him for a long moment, trying to decide how to feel about it. He felt like he should fight it harder, but as Juliette had pointed out, Katie was happy for the first time in a really long time.

"You won't hurt her?" he asked finally.

"If I do, you won't have to hunt me down. I'll accept my fate willingly," Monroe said.

Nick surrendered. "So, what are we going to do about Mr. Jones?"

* * *

><p>AN: I completely made up the Blutbad version of little Red Riding Hood.


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: Grimm is owned by NBC. I'm just borrowing the characters for a while.

Thanks to all who have read and reviewed.

Love this Fandom!

* * *

><p><em>Present day<em>

Tommy Jones knelt by the tiny grave. He put pink roses on the headstone and straighten up the teddy bears that Katie kept there.

"Well, Sweetheart, I guess your mother still takes time out of her new life to bring you your bears. Don't worry, Baby. Daddy loves you. Daddy's going to make it right. Our family is going to be together again real soon." He kissed the headstone, then stood up. Now he had to get Katie. He headed to the school she taught at.

He'd been watching her for days but could never catch her without that

_thing _with her. Today was no different. He saw Katie leave the building and run across the street to that yellow Beetle. He shudder as he watched her kiss that _animal_ before they drove away. He didn't follow them this time. He didn't need to. He already knew he couldn't get her away from Monroe without a fight and thanks to his cellmate, Orson, he knew he was no match for a mad Blutbad.

When Orson had first started spouting nonsense about wolves and pigs and other creatures, Tommy had thought Orson was insane. Then Orson had changed into a pig in front of his eyes. He spent the next three weeks trying to convince himself that jail hadn't driven him insane. It wasn't until Orson started raving about red eyes that all the pieces fell into place.

The guy with Katie that night. His eyes had turned red when Tommy shoved him. Then he had turned into that thing. When Tommy had finally convinced himself that he wasn't crazy and asked him, Orson had been a wealth of information. He'd told him that Monroe was a Blutbad and that they were little better than attack dogs. Killers, the whole lot of them. That no decent person would associate with them and that if Tommy's wife was screwing one, he should consider himself well rid of the bitch because no one would want her back after _that._

He'd also told Tommy how to get rid of one. You could shoot them, if you had about ten bullets in your gun. It was the same with most human forms of violence. Orson had told him the secret of getting rid of one. All you had to do was hit them in the lower back and they would be paralyzed long enough for you finish them off. Unfortunately, that meant getting close enough to do that without ending up as lunch yourself.

Tommy wasn't too worried about that. After all, it wasn't really the guy he wanted. He just wanted to know how to fight one in case he had to to get to Katie. If he could get her alone, then he wouldn't have to worry about that thing or Nick. He still wasn't sure why Orson had been scared shitless of Nick. Of course, Nick had arrested him, but that's what cops did. It wasn't like he roughed him up or anything. Nick wasn't anything without that badge to back him up.

Tommy decided the best way was to get Katie at school. He knew it was a closed campus and he wasn't allowed on it, but there had to be a security guard he could talk to. Everyone had a price. He'd just have to find the right one.

It took another week to find the right school officer. It took five thousand dollars but he was in. He waited for her in her classroom.

Katie knew something was wrong when she opened the door to her classroom. Nothing she could exactly put her finger on as she stood in the doorway but it just wasn't right. She walked towards her desk, trying to figure it out when the door shut behind her. She spun around and tried to run.

"Are we really going to do this again, Katie?" Tommy said, catching her and putting his hand over her mouth. "I don't want to hurt you but I will. Come with me. If you scream, or try to get away, I'll kill you and anyone else who gets in the way, understand?"

Katie looked out at the hall that was rapidly filling with students. She nodded. "I'll go, Tommy. Whatever you want. Just don't hurt anyone else."

"If you behave, I won't." He said. "Now, let's just walk out of here, calm and cool."

She let him lead her down the hall.

* * *

><p>Micah Lasser was stomping down the hall towards Lit class. He couldn't believe his Uncle Hap was making him apologize to Ms. Burkhardt. A year ago he would have thought what Micah had done was hilarious but now he was making him apologize. Micah didn't see what the big deal was. All he'd done was slap her on the behind a few times. It was just a joke. A dare. Now he had to go and apologize to a teacher. Well, he certainly wasn't going to do it in front of the other guys. He was just gong to go down before first period and do it when they were alone. That way if Uncle Hap really did call her, she could say he did it.<p>

As he turned down her hall, he saw her leaving her classroom with some man. He had his arm around her. That was strange. Ms. Burkhardt had been dating Monroe for awhile. He smelled fear. Something wasn't just right. He started to run after her.

"Ms. Burkhardt?" He called out. "Ms. Burkhardt!"

Tommy buried his gun deeper into Katie's side. "Get rid of him or I will," he whispered in her ear, before swinging her around.

Katie fought the urge to scream and steadied her voice. "Go to class, Micah."

"But, Ms. Burkhardt..." he started. He moved closer to them.

Katie held her hand out in front of her to stop him. "Go to class." She could tell he was struggling with the urge to shift. "Its fine. Get off this hall. You aren't supposed to be here."

"But, Ms...," He began again.

"Go. To. Class. Micah," she said, forcefully. She was terrified that he would shift and Tommy would kill him. "GO!" She pointed down the hall.

After a long moment, Micah shrugged and turned around. Katie sighed with relief.

"He's one of them, isn't he?" Tommy asked. He wasn't positive, but thought he had seen the boy's eyes turn red, then back to blue a few times.

"Them, what?" Katie said, walking quickly towards the door. She just wanted to be out of the school. Away from so many innocence bystanders.

"You know, a blutbad," Tommy said, realizing how crazy even just word sounded. "A wolf-boy."

"What are you talking about?" she asked, feigning confusion. "Of course he's not a wolf-boy. He's just a kid."

* * *

><p>Micah ran to his locker and pulled out his cell phone.<p>

"Uncle Hap?" he said as soon as Hap answered.

"What is it, Micah?" Hap asked, annoyed. "Have you apologized to Katie yet?"

"No, that's..,"

"Well, get to it then, Boy," Hap practically roared. "Katie was already nice enough to call me instead of sending you to the principal again. So either you man up and go apologize or I'll call Monroe and tell him that you can't keep your hands off his girlfriend's ass and let him rip them off."

"So she is still dating him?" Micah asked.

"Yes," Hap answered, not really seeing what that had to do with Micah apologizing. "Why?"

"Something isn't right," Micah said. "I went to talk to her and she was leaving school with some other guy. She seemed really scared but she made me go back the other way."

"Was it Nick?"

"No, it wasn't Detective Nick," Micah said. "Like I said, she was really scared.

"Okay," Hap said. He remembered Monroe saying she had trouble with her ex-husband before. "I'll call Monroe. Go to class and behave today."


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: Grimm is owned by NBC. I'm just borrowing the characters for a while.

Thanks to all who have read and reviewed.

Love this Fandom!

* * *

><p><em>Present day<em>

This time Tommy didn't take any chances that Katie would get away. He tied her hands behind her back and gagged her when he got her in his truck. She had never seen him that crazed. Even the smallest movements were brutal.

He kept a hand on her while he drove through the streets. When her phone rang, he let go of her to snatched it out of her purse.

"Eddie?" He said, looking at the screen. "That's the dog's name, is it?"

She looked straight ahead, trying not to give him the satisfaction of knowing she was scared. She tried to figure out where he was taking her.

"Oh, yeah, I know all about him. Your brother has been putting some very interesting people in jail lately," he said. "Well, we can't have your dog following us, can we?" He tossed the phone out the window. He knew that Nick could trace the phone's movements. "He's not going to save you this time. Nick either. Not if you want either one of them to stay alive."

Katie refused to acknowledge what he was saying but inside she was screaming.

"Do you know what the day is, Katie? No? Well, I do. It's the day you gave up our family," he said.

She looked at him in shock. She knew where he was headed now. She also knew she would be dead by the time anyone else figured it out.

* * *

><p>Monroe called Nick as soon as Hap called him. They decided to meet at the house Katie and Tommy had shared. That was the last known address for him even though Katie had sold the house when Tommy went to jail. It was as good a place to start as any.<p>

The new owner told them she hadn't seen either of the Joneses since Katie had handed over the keys.

"I hope you find her," she called out as they left. "Poor thing. From what the neighbors say, I can't blame her for leaving this place behind, losing those babies and all."

"Thanks," Nick said, almost on autopilot. He started the car, but didn't move. He suddenly jerked his head up. "Babies! Monroe, what's the date?"

"December 5th. Why?" He asked. He'd seen that look before and it usually meant Nick was on to something.

"I know where they are!" He threw the car into gear and took off. "Pleasant Hills cemetery. It is Sarah's birthday. I bet he took her to the cemetery."

* * *

><p>Katie stumbled along the path as Tommy pulled her towards the little grave she knew so well.<p>

He shoved her roughly to the ground.

She hissed as her knees hit the ground hard. She struggled to stay upright.

Tommy knelt behind her and tied her feet together. "What? You don't like this? I would have thought you like this position. Fucking that dog and all. Is this what its like? On your knees, down in the dirt, like an animal? Really, Kate, I would have never thought you would do something so disgusting." He untied the gag in her mouth.

"Shut up!" she said as soon as she could talk. She knew this trick well. He was trying to humiliate her until she broke, bent to his will. She wasn't going to break this time. He was going to kill her either way. "Shut up! You don't know anything. Do what you're going to do, but I'm not listening to this."

He smiled cruelly. "You don't like it when I talk about that _animal_ do you?"

"He's not an animal. You are."

He hit her hard across the back of her head. "Bitch! How dare you? I'm not the animal. I didn't kill our baby." He forced her to look at the tiny tombstone. "Look at it! Look at all we have left of our little baby! You chose this. I didn't. You tore our family apart!"

Katie choked back a sob.

"But that's okay," he said, pressing the gun to her head. "I'm going to fix it. I'm going to fix it now."

Katie squeezed her eyes shut and said a prayer.

* * *

><p>When Nick and Monroe got to the cemetery, they saw them kneeling before the grave.<p>

Tommy had his arm around Katie's shoulders and a gun pressed to her head. Katie had her eyes shut and Tommy was staring at the tombstone.

Nick motioned for Monroe to slip around behind them as he approached from the front. He hoped he could talk Tommy down. But as he drew his gun, he knew there was only one way this was going to end.

"Tommy, put the gun down," he called out, as he walked slow towards them.

"Don't get any closer, Nick," Tommy said, looking up at him. "I'll kill her. Put your gun down."

"Okay, okay," Nick said. He saw Monroe was in position. With an almost imperceptable nod to Monroe, he held his hands up and went to put the gun down slowly.

A small click from Tommy's gun set off everything.

Monroe lunged at him, tackling him, throwing him away from Katie. He was in full wolf form now. He growled and advanced on Tommy with his fangs bared. All he could see was that gun pressed against Katie's skull.

Tommy staggered to his feet. Monroe swiped at him, leaving large scratches across his chest and neck. He hit him and sent him sprawling on the ground. He had every intention to rip Tommy apart.

Nick untied Katie.

"Nick, do something," she said, watching the scene unfold.

Nick had his gun raised, but he didn't fire. He wasn't sure he wouldn't hit Monroe.

The second time she saw Tommy hit the ground, Katie made her decision.

"Eddie, no! Stop!" She threw herself between the two, wrapping her arms around Monroe and pressing her body against him. She knew the risk she was taking. She knew that if he didn't see her as his mate, he'd tear her apart in his frenzy to get to his prey. Still, she had to try. She had to stop him from killing Tommy. She wasn't going to let Tommy take Monroe from her that way. She wasn't going to let him win.

"KATELYN, ARE YOU INSANE?" Nick yelled. He turned his gun from Tommy to Monroe, afraid Monroe was going to kill her in that state.

For a minute, time seemed to stand still. Katie felt the tension in Monroe's body. She felt him wrap his arms around her and she felt his claws dig into her arms. "Eddie, stop! It's me. It's Katie."

Monroe was aware of Katie throwing herself against him but he was too blind with rage to stop. A part of mind knew it was her, but all he could think about was tearing Tommy apart. He felt her pressing up against him. He wrapped his arms around her, the wolf wanting to throw this obstacle out of his way. His claws dug into her flesh. He could smell the blood before it ever hit the air. He was about to throw her out of the way when her voice finally pentrated the rage he was in.

"Don't do this. You are better than this. I love you. Don't let him take you away this way," she said. "I love you."

He shifted back to human form and looked at her. "I love you, too."

A gunshot tore through the air.

In all the confusion, Tommy had managed to get to the gun he'd dropped a few feet away. He wasn't sure who he was shooting at. All he knew was he wanted both of them dead. If he couldn't be happy, Katie wasn't going to be either.

He raised the gun and cocked it.

Nick saw him move, he saw the gun come up. He didn't think. He wasn't even sure when he had changed his aim as he pulled the trigger and watched as Tommy fall to the ground, a large red stain blooming on his chest. He holstered his gun and went to feel for a pulse. Not finding one, he let out a sigh of relief and regret. He was sorry it had come to this, but now he knew Katie was safe.

He looked up at her and Monroe. They were wrapped in each other's arms, staring at one another like there wasn't anyone else in the world. He almost felt like he was intruding. He shook his head and smiled. Well, at least he didn't have to work quite so hard to protect her anymore.

"Is it over?" Katie asked, finally.

Monroe looked at Nick who nodded.

"It is, Sweetheart. It's over. He can't hurt you anymore," he said, holding her tighter.

Katie sighed and slumped against Monroe in relief. "Its over."

* * *

><p>AN: Just the Epilogue left to go. Then on to the next adventure. Angelina's about to find out that Monroe's found a new girlfriend and she isn't happy!


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: Grimm is owned by NBC. I'm just borrowing the characters for a while.

Thanks to all who have read and reviewed. Those reviews have kept me going. Feel free to tell me what you'd like to see in future stories.

Love this Fandom!

* * *

><p>Three days later, Katie went back to the cemetery. This time she wasn't terrified. This time, she hadn't come to die, she'd come to celebrate a life.<p>

She knelt down beside the grave, then pulled Monroe down beside her. "She was born at 21 weeks. The doctors told us that there was nothing they could do and all the machines and wires were just delaying inevitable. They told us that we could either leave her in the incubator and she would live a few more days, or we could choose to turn the machines off and hold her and let nature take its course. I chose to hold her. I just thought that, whatever time she had here, she deserved to be loved and held and to know that, no matter the circumstances that got her here, we really wanted her. So they took everything off and brought us into the nursery. Tommy and I, his parents, Aunt Marie, and Nick. When the nurse handed her to me," Katie stopped to wipe away tears.

Monroe put his arms around her and pulled her against his chest.

"Tommy lost it. His dad had to drag him out to the hall to get it together. I did too. Nick held me up while I held her. She was so tiny. She didn't fill up my hands. I remember counting ten little fingers, ten little toes. It just didn't register that that beautiful little baby wouldn't be coming home with us. Tommy came back in and together, we held her until she left this world. He never forgave me for making that decision. Maybe if I'd seen that, maybe if I had made a different choice, it wouldn't have had to end the way it did."

"No, Kate, you can't really believe that," Monroe said. He pressed a kiss to her head. "You know better than that. You did what you thought was right. That's all any of us can do in life," he said, wondering why his dad's voice was coming out of his mouth.

Katie pulled his arms tighter around her and rubbed her cheek against his beard. "That's why I love you." She pulled away and smiled at him. "Now, where are those flowers? I'm three days late already."

Monroe watched as she tenderly arranged the flowers and decorations on the grave.

Katie stood up and placed a kiss on the small stone. She would never forget or neglect her little daughter, but she knew it was time to move on and quit trying to pay for mistakes she hadn't made. She would be back. Now she could look at it without pain. In the spring, they would plant flowers on it, and put teddy bears on it in the winter.

She slipped her arm around Monroe's waist as they left. "You're a pretty awesome guy, Eddie Monroe, do you know that?"

He looked at her and smiled. "And that's why I love you." He pulled her close and kissed her before nuzzling her neck.

* * *

><p>Preview of Part 2<p>

Starts 4 months after the end of Little Red Riding Hood

Micah Lasser was in a hurry to get to school for once. Today was the day. He was going to ask that new girl to the prom. He had to. It was only 3 weeks away. He'd been trying to get up the nerve since February. He'd decided it was today or nothing. He was a Blutbad, after all. Not a Mausehertz.

"Come on, Jake, get your butt down here," he yelled as he walked into his Uncle Hap's kitchen. He and his younger brother had been pretty much living there for the past few months while their mom got back on her feet.

"Hey, Son, where's the fire?" A leggy red head, leaning against the counter, asked.

"Aunt Angie!" He bounded over to her like an eager puppy. "When did you get back in town?"

"Just this morning," she smiled, hugging him. "So what's the big hurry? Last time I was here, Hap had to practically drag you to school. You haven't become a nerd while I've been gone, have you?"

Before he could reply, Hap snarled. "There are worse things he could do in this world." He wasn't happy with Angelina just showing up on his doorstep just when he finally had Micah headed in the right direction again.

"Down, Boy," Angelina snapped. "I was just joking."

"He's finally gonna ask Holly Clark to the prom," Jake said, coming into the room.

"Holly Clark?" Hap said. "Isn't that the Holly that's been living with Monroe? The wild girl?"

"Yeah," Micah answered. "She's been coming to school with Ms. B. for half days since January. She says that her therapist thought it would be good idea to start slow before she goes to school full time next year."

"Yeah, and Micah has the major hots for her," Jake supplied in usual 14 year old manner. "But then, I think he has the hots for Ms. B., too."

"I do not!" Micah swore. He liked Ms. B. for a teacher, that was all.

"Who's Ms. Burkhardt?" Angelina asked. She vaguely remembered a Detective Burkhardt was the cop on Rolf's case.

"Oh, she's Detective Nick's sister," Micah said. "She's my Lit. teacher."

"Really?" Angelina said, less concerned. Some prissy teacher didn't interest her.

"Anyway, Holly's been living with her and Mr. Monroe for a couple of months now," Micah said. "Though, I think, technically she lives with Ms. B. and Ms. B lives with Monroe."

That caught her attention. She narrowed her eyes. "This Ms. Burkhardt lives with Monroe?_ My Monroe?_" Well, she'd just have to see about that.

She'd just have to see about that, indeed.


End file.
